amijamesnyink

Renowned tattoo artist Ami James will be taking his talents from South Beach to New York this summer, expanding his reality tattoo show empire into the Empire State with 'NY Ink' (premieres Thurs., June 2, 10PM ET on TLC).

James has spent the last few months putting together a new crew and setting up an expansive, sprawling tattoo shop in downtown Manhattan that he's dubbed the Wooster Street Social Club. AOL TV spent a day hanging out at the shop, taking pictures and talking with James about the new cast, what's in store this season and New York's vibrant tattoo culture.

James said he's extremely excited about opening a new shop in New York. "The tattoo culture is way bigger in New York than Miami; there's no comparison at all. New York has always been a tattoo capital. You walk down a New York street in the summer and literally every third person has a sleeve. That's something that just doesn't exist in Miami. The really cool part is that you have a lot more customers who want to get serious work, really cool tattoos, which inspires you as an artist everyday."